Final answer:
John Steinbeck masterfully uses descriptive language and sensory imagery in 'Of Mice and Men' to create vivid settings and nuanced characters. His word choices depict the Salinas Valley and convey the tone, affecting the reader's emotional connection with the story.
Step-by-step explanation:
John Steinbeck's use of language in developing setting and character in Of Mice and Men serves to vividly depict the time and place of the story while also revealing deeper nuances of his characters' experiences. Steinbeck chose specific descriptors that evoke the sensory experiences of the world his characters inhabit, utilizing imagery and figurative language to create a vivid picture of the setting. For example, the story's opening scene describes a peaceful, natural setting filled with the sights and sounds of a riverbank, which immediately puts the reader in the context of the Salinas Valley during the Great Depression.
The author's diction, or word choice, affects the tone and mood of the narrative. By selecting descriptors like 'golden foothill slopes' and 'warm', Steinbeck conjures a serene and hopeful tone, contrasting later with harsher descriptions of the bunkhouse, symbolizing the rough, challenging life of itinerant workers. This balance of tone assists readers in connecting emotionally with the text and characters. While Steinbeck chose to depict the environment and people with certain descriptors to reflect the overarching themes of loneliness and the pursuit of dreams, he could have used alternative adjectives and metaphors that would have altered the readers' experience and interpretation of the setting and characters.